… And DDB Lagos goes to Miami

As the popular saying goes, the advertising world stage waits for no one, and certainly no agency. It’s constantly evolving with new players, new media and new ideas that turn yesterday’s brilliant campaigns into today’s clichés. Take for example the use of flash mobs in generating attention for a brand. Although original when first introduced, its novelty and intended desire of wowing the general public has worn off considerably. It therefore takes dynamic and perceptive minds, as well as taut leadership to stay ahead in the competitive landscape, be it local or global.

DDB Lagos, one of Nigeria’s foremost advertising agencies for the last 25 years continues to demonstrate that they are up to this task. With a backdrop of several pitch wins which include GTAssur (now Mansard), UBA, FCMB, Girlhub (The Nike Foundation), Mainstreet Bank as well as launching several milestone campaigns for brands such as MTN Nigeria and Mouka Foam, DDB Lagos is now taking unprecedented steps to benchmark its creative talent with global standards.

Enter Miami Ad School, one of the world’s best advertising schools. Renowned globally for the quality of its graduates, Miami Ad School continues to break barriers in every advertising field and churn out fresh creative minds. It is noteworthy that Miami Ad School graduates have received more creative awards – the Clios, Andys, One show and many more, than graduates from any of the other top advertising school in the world.

Over a period of six months, the DDB Lagos creative team received intensive training courses from tutors from Miami Ad School (Germany). According to DDB Lagos management, participants were engaged in three areas, offering six courses in Concepting/Advanced Concepting, Copywriting/Advanced Story Telling and Integrated Concepting. All six courses were handled by the seasoned tutors, many of whom are award winners and graduates of Miami Ad School themselves. Though a rigorous and demanding learning experience, the results proved satisfying as all participants completed the courses successfully.

Speaking on the impact of the training, participant, Babatunde Sule, Creative Director at DDB Lagos, stated that the training offered a fresh way to look at advertising in terms of best practices and a global approach to conceptualisation.

He further described the course as a brilliant initiative on the part of the Agency to spur creativity in the staff as it was an eye opening experience, exposing everyone involved to advertising practices outside the country. Sule closed by saying that he looked forward to applying this new knowledge on brands in the Nigerian space and acknowledged DDB Lagos for the opportunity.

This therefore marks a new era not just for DDB Lagos as an agency but also for the Nigerian advertising industry, as DDB Lagos now boasts a new breed of practitioners who are not only ready to take on the world, but have also been aptly equipped to continue conquering the Advertising world stage.